A criminal conviction can have an extensive impact on your life and your liberty. Unfortunately, many people who get charged with crimes do not realize just how many areas of their life will get affected by their criminal case until they get convicted. One thing that can get affected by a criminal conviction is your voting rights. A recent case illustrates how the impact of a conviction on your voting rights can harm you above and beyond being unable to vote.
Some people commit crimes unknowingly, and that’s just what happened to Crystal Mason. She broke the law by voting in the 2016 election, and she had no idea at the time she cast her vote that it was illegal for her to do so. Unfortunately for Mason, she’s a convicted felon. Mason served three years after she got sentenced for assisting people in filing inflated tax returns, and then she went on supervised release. The election happened during the time she was on supervised release, and Mason did not know that in Texas, a felon’s right to vote cannot get restored until after they have completed their entire sentence, including any release time.
When Crystal Mason went on supervised release, no one told her that she wasn’t supposed to vote until her release got completed. At the voting location, no one stopped Mason from casting her ballot. When Mason’s name wasn’t on the voting rolls, election workers gave her a provisional ballot. As the worker helped her through the voting process, she did not read all the way through the affidavit before declaring, through her signature, that she could legally vote.
Because of an innocent mistake regarding her voting status, Crystal Mason just got sentenced to an additional five years in prison, a sentence that is longer than what she initially got for her original tax crime. That is not a good thing, but it also not the worst case scenario. Fortunately for Crystal Mason, she’s an American citizen and does not have to face deportation in addition to her new prison sentence. That’s what happened to Rosa Marie Ortega, a woman who cast her vote while unaware that although she was a legal resident of the United States and had a green card, she wasn’t a full citizen and had no legal right to vote. Ortega’s mistake resulted in an eight-year prison sentence and possible deportation.
Approximately one out of every forty Texans does not currently have voting rights because of felony convictions. If you have a felony conviction, you can not vote until you have fully completed your parole or release. Once you do that, it is essential that you restore your right to vote. While restoring your right to vote is just one part of the experience of reentering society, it should not get overlooked. Your overall experience of reentry can help you move forward in your life and avoid recidivism.
Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Fighting Hard for Texas Defendants
A Texas Criminal Defense Attorney is equipped to help you successfully resolve your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.